Automatic door boring machine



y 1967 w. c. PHELPS 3,

AUTOMATIC DOOR BORING MACHINE Filed Dec. 7, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 90% Z wf/VTOR ATTORNEYS FIG. I

May 16, 1967 w, c, PHELPS 3,319,672

AUTOMATIC DOOR BORING MACHINE Filed Dec. 7, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 2

WM a 226%? A TTOR/VEYS May 16, 1967 w. c. PHELPS 3,319,672

AUTOMATIC DOOR BORING MACHINE Filed Dec. 7, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 A TTOI-P/VEYS May 16, 1967 w. c. PHELPS 3,319,672

AUTOMATIC DOOR BORING MACHINE Filed Dec. 7, 1964 4 SheetsSheet 4 AIR VALVE GIBBED SLIDE DRILL DRILL HEAD DRILL SUPPORT GIBBED SLIDE BYQMMZ? WWW ATTORNEYS FIG4 United States Patent Oil ice 3,319,672 Patented May 16, 1957 3,319,672 UToMArrc noon BORING MACHINE William c. Phelps, 140 w. DArnour St., Chalmette, La. 70043 Filed Dec. 7, 1965, Ser. No. 416,302 11 Claims. c1. 144-3 This invention relates to the boring and routing of doors and more particularly comprises a new and improved assembly for automatically locating and forming the borings and routings in doors for the lock and hinges.

One important object of this invention is to provide means including a support upon which a door may be bored and routed, which after sensing the size of the door automatically positions the various tools which carry out the boring functions.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a door boring machine which is automatically set in motion after a door is placed on its support and clamped firmly in place'so that the boring operations may be completed in a vey few minutes without the attention of an operator.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a door boring machine which automatically compensates for doors of difierent thicknesses to locate the boring for the latch bolt.

Another important object of this invention is to provide automatic door boring and routing equipment which is of rugged construction and which is designed to give long, trouble free service so as to constitute an economical tool in a mill handling doors in quantity.

To accomplish these and other objects, the door boring machine of this invention includes among its features a support for carrying in a horizontal plane doors to be bored. Aligning means are provided on the support for orienting the door to be bored in a selected position with respect to the support. Clamping means carried by the support engage the door placed on it and hold the door securely in the selected orientation while the various functions are being performed. Mounted on the support are vertically and horizontally movable drills which respectively bore the latch and latch bolt cutouts. The two drills are operatively connected together so that one does not operate until the other has completed its operation.

These and other objects and features of this invention along with its incident advantages, will be better understood and appreciated from the following detailed description of one embodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a door boring and routing machine constructed in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the horizontal and vertical drill assemblies of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the horizontal drill assembly; and

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic view of the drills and their electric controls.

In the drawing, the boring machine is shown to include a frame which carries a table support 12, a vertical and horizontal drill assembly 14 carried on the frame adjacent the rear edge of the table support, a clamping assembly 16 disposed adjacent the drill assembly 14, a pair of sensing switches 18 and a third sensing switch 20 which respectively sense the length and thickness of the door being made, and a routing jig assembly 22 carried on a bridge 24 disposed above the table support 12. Each of these parts will be described in detail below.

The frame 10 may take substantially any form so long as it has sufficient strength to carry the table support 12 and particularly the central table section 26 upon which the boring operations are performed. In the embodiment shown, the frame includes a number of horizontal members 28 secured between the several vertical legs 30 (some of which have been broken away for purposes of clarity). The supporting surface 32 of the table 12 and the central section 26 may be covered by a plastic laminated sheet or a metal plate of stainless steel or some other smooth finish to prevent marring of doors placed on the table to be worked upon by the drills. It is evident from FIG. 1 that the supporting surface 32 carries the door being worked upon in a horizontal plane with the edge of the door adjacent the latch resting against the stop 34 extending along the rear edge of the surface 32.

The horizontal and vertical drilling assembly 14 is most clearly shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. In FIG. 2 the vertical drill 36 is shown in detail while in FIG. 3 the horizontal drill 38 is primarily illustrated. The vertical drill 36 includes a drill head 40 carried by a gibbed slide mounting 42 which allows the entire head to move up and down under the control of an air cylinder and valve assembly 44. The drill head 40 preferably includes an air and hydraulic powered feed and retract stroke and may typically be a Bellows-Valvair Corp. Model No. 22. That drill head which is illustrated in the drawing has a two inch stroke which is supplemented by a one inch stroke introduced for the entire head by the gibbed slide mounting 42. The two inch stroke of the drill is under the control of air valve 46 carried on the side of the head 40. The valve 44 preferably is a low voltage valve requiring only a momentary electrical impulse to shift the valve position. The drill is driven through belt and pulley48 by vertically oriented motor 50. In FIG. 3 the drill bit 52 of the vertical drill 36 is shown disposed just forward of the stop rail 34. Obviously, the drill bit may be changed to suit the particular latch to be fitted in the door. The horizontal drill 38 may be identical to the drill 36 mounted vertically, and have a two inch feed and retract stroke. Unlike the vertical drill, no supplementary movement in the direction of the axis of the drill is required so that no supplemental motion of the horizontal drill 38 is provided in a horizontal direction. In FIG. 3 the horizontal drill 38 is shown to include a low voltage air valve motor 54 which preferably requires only a momentary electrical impulse to change the valve condition. In FIG. 3 the drill is shown to carry a horizontal bit 56 which extends horizontally from the drill head through a slot 58 cut in the stop rail 34 so that the bit 56 may engage the edge of the door to be bored.

The horizontal drill 38 is mounted on a gibbed slide support 60 which allows the drill 38 to be raised and lowered in order to position it correctly for doors of different thickness. An air motor 62 connected to the support 60 will elevate the horizontal drill 38 on the gibbed slide 60 7 from the position shown in FIG. 3 to a position wherein the frame 60 engages the stops 64 carried on the angle iron 66 when the door being drilled is 1%" thick. It will be recognized that doors are ordinarily either 1%" or 1 /8" thick, and for the bit 56 to drill the latch bolt cutout in the center, the horizontal drill 33 must be elevatable 7 to compensate for the difference in the two standard dimensions. In the arrangement shown, the horizontal drill 38 is biased to the lower position and is elevated by the motor 62 only when a 1%" door is being worked upon. The horizontal drill like the vertical drill is driven through a belt and pully 68 by a motor 69.

The clamping assembly 16 includes an air clamp block 70 shown in FIG. 2 to be disposed within the frame 72 mounted above the support 32. The block 70 is carried on a piston 73 forming part of an air cylinder 74 in turn controlled by air valve 76 supported on the top of the frame 72. When air passes to the cylinder 74 through the valve 76 the block 70 moves downwardly to engage the surface of the door above the central table support 26. The block 70 serves to firmly hold the door in position during the drilling operations. As will become evident below, in order for the drills 36 and 38 to operate, the clamping assembly 16 must be activated to hold the door firmly in place.

The twin switch assembly 18 includes two stops 80 and 82 each pivotally supported independently of one another on a horizontal bar 84 mounted on top of the rail 34. The particular stop 80 or 82 to be used is determined by the proper hand of the door, that is, whether the door is a left hand or a right hand door. Each of the stops carries a switch 86 adapted to be engaged by the top of the door being worked upon on the machine and before either of the drills 36 and 38 may be operated, one of the switches 86 must be actuated. For purposes of this description, it may be assumed that the stop 80 is used for left hand doors and the stop 82 is used for right hand doors. In such a case, with the stops 80 and 82 in the position shown in FIG. 1 the stop 82 will be rendered operative when the door is placed on the support. If a left hand door is to be bored, the stop 82 can be pivoted upwardly about the rod 84 by throwing its handle 88 rearwardly as suggested by the arrow 90. When the handle 88 is pushed rearwardly as suggested, the stop 82 will pivot about the rod 84 and its switch 86 will be placed in an inactive position to expose the other switch 86 carried by the stop 80.

Preferably, the switches 86 are of the momentary im pulse type so that when one is engaged, a single pulse will be passed by the switch to operate the circuit controlled by it. This feature will become clear in connection with the description below of the operation of the assembly including the controls.

The single switch assembly 20 shown in FIG. 1 is disposed above the table support 12 and is adapted to be actuated when a 1%" door is placed on the support. The switch may take any one of a number of forms and typically is a microswiteh having a blade facing downwardly toward the support 12, which will be depressed when a 1%" door is placed on the table support 12. The switch 20 controls the circuit of the air motor 62 for raising and lowering the horizontal drill 38 mounted on the gibbed slide support 60.

The routing jig assembly 22 mounted on the bridge 24 above the frame includes a horizontal bar 90 carrying a pair of enlarged plates 92 at each end, and each of'the plates 92 is provided with a routing guide opening 94 adapted to be aligned with the inside edge of the door away from the rail stop 34. A pair of air clamps (not shown) may be attached to the back of the bar 90 adjacent each of the plates 92 and cooperate with the brackets 96 to hold the assembly 22 in place on the edge of the door with the openings 94 in the operative posi- .tion. A control valve 98 is mounted on the central portion of the bar 90 and controls the flow of air to the two air clamps. V

The assembly 22 is supported on the bridge 24 by lines 100 which extend downwardly from pulleys 102 fixed to the superstructure of the bridge 24. The assembly 22 is operated manually, that is, the operator physically pulls the bar 90 downwardly on its lines 100 and aligns the routing openings 94 with the edge of the door. The ji-g assembly may be used in combination with a hand operated routing tool simultaneously with the automatic operation of the drills 36 and 38 for boring the latch and latch bolt openings. The routing as well as the installation of the hinges may be accomplished manually while the boring takes place automatically.

The several parts of the assembly have been described in detail above, and their operation in the assembly will be desscribed particularly with reference to FIG. 4. The

operator must first determine the proper hand of the door, and having made that determination he must then set either the stop or 82 in the operative position. Assume that the door is a left hand door and the stop 80 is the one to be used for left hand doors. In thatcase, the handle 88 of the stop 82 is pushed rearwardly to pivot the stop 82 and its switch 86 upwardly out of the path of a door to be placed on the table support. Next the operator places the presized door on the table support 12 making sure that in doing so the door is firmly held against the stop 80 and against the stop rail 34. The rail 34 may itself be adjustable to regulate the back 'set of the lock being used. The motors 50 and 69 for the vertical and horizontal drills are also turned on.

When the door placed on the support engages the switch 86 of stop 80, the air valve 76 is energized from the twelve volt transformer 106 and air froma compressed air source flows through the duct 108 to the cylinder 74 to hold the block 70 firmly against the top of the door on the table support to prevent it from moving. Simultaneously with actuation of the valve 76, the switch 20 senses the thickness of the door placed on the'table support. If the door is 1% thick, the microswitch 20 is not actuated and the air motor 62 does not move the horizontal drill 3 8 upwardly on its gibbed slide support. However, if the microswiteh 20 is actuated by a 1% door placed on the table support, the air motor 62 is connected across the secondary of the transformer 106, and the horizontal drill 38 is elevated on the slide support 60 until it engages the stops 64 which limit the upward travel to A The pulse created by the closing of switch 86 also energizes and opens the valve controlling the air cylinder 44, which moves the vertical drill head 36 downwardly on the gibbed slide support 42 through a one inch stroke. Simultaneously, the valve 108 controlling the stroke of the drill is open, and the drill moves downwardly on its own frame through a two inch stroke. Thus, the total downward travel of the bit 52 is three inches, which is sufficient to move the bit 52 from a position above the door to a position wherein the drill passes completely through the door'to form the bore forthe latch. Upon completion of the downward travel of the drill, the automatic return of the drill raises or retracts the drill on its own frame to withdraw the bit 52 from the door. When the drill is retracted fully from its two inch stroke, microswiteh 110 is engaged "by the adjustable stop 112 carried on the drill head 40, and the switch is thereby actuated. The closed switch 110 passes a pulse to the valve and air cylinder assembly44 which causes'that cylinder to again raise the vertical drill on the gibbed slide support 42 so that the vertical drill is fully elevated.

Simultaneously, closed switch 110 sends an impulse to the air valve 54 controlling the horizontal drill head cylinder. When the horizontal drill completes its forward stroke, its automatic return withdraws the drill head to its original position. The two inch drill stroke of the horizontal drill is sufiicient to bore the hole for the latch bolt, and no additional stroke is needed. When the horizontal drill 38 is fully retracted, the drill engages microswitch 114 which sends a single pulse to the air valve 76. The pulse 76 changes the condition of thevalve, i.e. closes it, which discontinues the flow of air from the compressed air source to the cylinder 74. Consequently, the clamp block 70 is released and the entire clamping assembly is disabled. 'In this manner-the cycle is completed and the door may be withdrawn.

During the operation described above, which is conducted fully automatically without the attention of the operator, the operator may work with the routing jig assembly 22 to rout out the cavities for the hinges on the opposite edge of the door. As a left hand door is being worked upon, the assembly 22 is pulled down from the bridge and is placed with its cross bar 116 on the back of bar on the appropriate side of the door so that the openings 94 lie on the proper side of the inner door edge. With a hand tool the operator may rout out the openings for the hinges and subsequently affix the hinges to the door, all while the automatic drilling operations are conducted.

From the foregoing description it will be appreciated that if a right hand door is placed on the table, the stop 82 is placed in the position shown and as its switch 86 is in parallel with the switch 86 of the left stop 80, the circuits will be placed in operation in the sequence described above and all of the steps will be conducted automatically. 7

From the foregoing description those skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous modifications may be made of this invention without departing from its spirit. Therefore, it is not intended to limit the scope of this invention to the single embodiment illustrated and described. Rather, it is intended that the scope of this invention be determined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:

1. A door boring machine comprising a support for carrying a door to be bored in a horizontal plane,

aligning means mounted on the support for mounting a door to be bored in a selected orientation with respect to the support,

clamping means carried by the support for holding the door in the selected orientation on the support,

a vertically mounted drill caunied by the support for drilling a latch cutout in the door,

means connected to the aligning means and the vertical drill and clamp for activating the clamping means and the vertical drill in response to a door being placed on the support,

a horizontally mounted drill carried on the support adjacent the vertical drill for drilling the latch bolt cutout in the door,

and means connected to the horizontal drill and responsive to deactivation of the vertical drill for actuating the horizontal 2. A door boring machine as defined in claim 1 further characterized by adjustable mounting means supporting the horizontal drill on the support,

and means responsive to the thickness of the door placed on the support for automatically elevating the drill on the adjustable mounting means.

3. A door boring machine comprising a frame for supporting a door to be drilled,

a clamp and horizontal and vertical drills mounted on the frame,

pneumatic actuating means secured to each of the drills and the clamp for moving the clamp into firm gripping contact with a door placed on the frame and for moving the drills in a drilling and withdrawing direction with respect to the door on the frame,

a pair of stops mounted on the frame,

a microswitch forming part of each stop and also forming part of an electrical circuit for activating the pneumatic actuating means for the clamp and vertical drill in response to contact of either stop by a door on the frame,

an additional switch operatively associated with the vertical drill and actuated by the return of the vertical drill to its withdrawn position,

an electrical circuit including the additional switch controlling the pneumatic actuating means of the horizontal drill for moving the drill in a drilling direction when the additional switch is actuated by the vertical drill,

and means including a switch responsive to withdrawal of the horizontal drill for disabling the pneumatic actuating means of the clamp,

4. A door boring machine as defined in claim 3 further characterized by a limit switch mounted on the frame and positioned to be engaged by a door of selected thickness,

and an elevating mechanism operatively associated with the limit switch connected to the horizontal drill for changing the elevation of the horizontal drill in response to contact of a door with the limit switch.

5. A door boring machine as defined in claim 3 further characterized by each of said stops being movable between active and inactive positions and being selectively moved into position determined by the hand of the door. 6. A door boring machine as defined in claim 3 further characterized by a routing assembly, pulley means supporting the routing assembly above the frame, and openings provided on the assembly for indicating the areas on the door to be routed. 7. A door boring machine comprising a frame, a table support on the frame for carrying a door to be Worked upon, a stop rail on the support for positioning the edge of the door to be bored, additional right hand and left hand door stop means each being movable to an operative position adjacent the stop rail, clamping mean-s operatively connected to each of the additional stop means for clamping the door firmly in place on the support when one of the additional stop means is engaged by a door, and drilling means secured to the support for boring a cutout in the door and rendered operative when one of the additional stop means is engaged by the door. 8. A door boring machine as defined in claim 7 further characterized by said drilling means including a horizontally oriented drill for boring a latch bolt cutout in the door. 9. A door boring machine as defined in claim 8 further characterized by said drilling means also including a vertically oriented drill for boring a latch cutout in the door. 10. A door boring machine as defined in claim 9 further characterized by each of the 'drills having a pneumatically aotuatedhead for moving the drill toward and away from the door. 11. A door boring machine as defined in claim 10 further characterized by a gibbed slide support for the vertical drill, and means for moving the drill on the support vertically toward and away from the door.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,945,520 7/1960 Grubb 14427 2,987,085 6/ 196-1 Porter 144-'3.=ZX

ANDREW R. JUHASZ, Pit-m Examiner.

W. DYER, JR., W. D. BRAY,

Assis an Examine s. 

1. A DOOR BORING MACHINE COMPRISING A SUPPORT FOR CARRYING A DOOR TO BE BORED IN A HORIZONTAL PLANE, ALIGNING MEANS MOUNTED ON THE SUPPORT FOR MOUNTING A DOOR TO BE BORED IN A SELECTED ORIENTATION WITH RESPECT TO THE SUPPORT, CLAMPING MEANS CARRIED BY THE SUPPORT FOR HOLDING THE DOOR IN THE SELECTED ORIENTATION ON THE SUPPORT, A VERTICALLY MOUNTED DRILL CARRIED BY THE SUPPORT FOR DRILLING A LATCH CUTOUT IN THE DOOR, MEANS CONNECTED TO THE ALIGNING MEANS AND THE VERTICAL DRILL AND CLAMP FOR ACTIVATING THE CLAMPING MEANS AND THE VERTICAL DRILL IN RESPONSE TO A DOOR BEING PLACED ON THE SUPPORT, A HORIZONTALLY MOUNTED DRILL CARRIED ON THE SUPPORT ADJACENT THE VERTICAL DRILL FOR DRILLING THE LATCH BOLT CUTOUT IN THE DOOR, AND MEANS CONNECTED TO THE HORIZONTAL DRILL AND RESPONSIVE TO DEACTIVATION OF THE VERTICAL DRILL FOR ACTUATING THE HORIZONTAL DRILL. 